Paul and Lucy Spadoni periodically live in Tuscany to explore Paul’s Italian roots, practice their Italian and enjoy “la dolce vita.”
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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Rain and a new routine as we settle into our "normal" Italian life

Lucy hiking in Uzzano Castello

I
see from the news that Western Washington has been getting plenty of
rain, but we didn’t escape it by coming to Tuscany. Every day here
is probably just as rainy as it is in Washington, so life is much the
same as it would be for us in Gig Harbor. We are spending more time
inside than usual, but that has its benefits. We have started again
on our language lessons, using Rosetta Stone, something that we have
long neglected.

Yesterday
we walked a couple of blocks to the public library to use the
free wifi and check out some children’s books. I’m now reading
the book “Holes,” by an American author but translated into
Italian. It’s written for children ages 9-12. I’m feeling pretty
good that I can understand it. I have to look up one or two words per
page, but sometimes I just skip over the few words I don’t
understand, and it doesn’t interfere with my overall comprehension.

A little torrent just outside Uzzano.

Our
transportation problem has been easily resolved, at least for this
year. We’ll be able to use the car of our friend Simone’s dad
while the latter is in Brazil for a couple of months, and when that
arrangement ends, we’ve been offered the use of Eberhard and
Dorothea’s car. We pay them about half of what it would cost to
rent from an agency. Thus we won’t be looking to buy a motorino
at all this year.

Since
we don’t ride our bikes much now that we live on the hilltop, we’ve
decided to take some nice long walks three days a week for our
exercise. It doesn't rain the entire day, so we are still able to fit this in between showers. We walked around Uzzano Castello on Monday, and today we
took a walk along the river bank in San Salvatore. One of the
run-down old houses by the river that we had looked at five years ago
has finally been sold, and the new owners are moving ahead quickly on
re-construction. It’s going to be a real beauty, and we wish them
well, but we are far happier living in the middle of Montecarlo,
where we can interact with the natives.

The rustico in 2016

It
could be some time before we get wifi in our house, so for now we
have to go elsewhere to use the Internet. The library is only open a
few hours a day. The visitor’s center also has free wifi, but it’s
rarely open in the winter. We have been going to the local bars and
the gelateria to buy hot chocolate or gelato just so we can use the
Internet. Well, if that’s our only complaint, then we must be pretty
content overall . . . and we are.

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About Me

First off, before you hassle me about our title, Lucy thought of it. Yes, I know some people may think broad is derogatory, but the etymology is uncertain and she doesn’t find it offensive, and it made me laugh. We have been married since 1974 and are empty-nesters now, which allows me to bring my submerged Italophilia into the open. We first came to live in Italy from February-April in 2011 and have returned during the same months every year. From 2011-2015, we lived in San Salvatore, at the foot of the hilltop city Montecarlo, where my paternal grandparents were born, raised and, in 1908, married. In late 2015, we bought a home in Montecarlo. We come for a variety of purposes: We want to re-establish contact with distant cousins in both Nonno’s and Nonna’s families, we want to learn the language and see what it is like to live as Italians in modern Italy, we like to travel and experience different cultures. Even if we aren’t successful at achieving these purposes, we love Italy and enjoy every moment here, so there is no chance we will be disappointed. I am grateful to God for giving me a wife who is beautiful, clever, adaptable and willing to jump into my dreams wholeheartedly.